There are various network configurations for devices/computers coupled together in a network. One example is the client-server configuration, wherein a number of servers and a number of clients are coupled together, such that the clients typically utilize the servers for storage and retrieval of data there from.
Furthermore, in order to ensure better performance and fault tolerance, servers typically store data in a Redundant Array Independent Disk (RAID) configuration, wherein the same files or data are stored in different locations (e.g., a different drive on a same server (internal RAID configuration) or a different drive on a different server (external RAID configuration)). An internal RAID configuration is subject to lower reliability, because if the server on which the data is redundantly stored in inoperative, the data cannot be accessed from the primary storage or the secondary storage. In contrast, an external RAID configuration provides greater reliability because the data is not redundantly stored on one server. Therefore, if the server providing the primary storage for the data is inoperative, the data may still be accessed from the server providing the secondary storage for the data.
Moreover, the distribution of the different components of a server is now distributed across the network. For example, in one configuration, a storage disk for a server is at a different location as compared to the location of the processor/memory/monitor of the diskless part of the server. One type of protocol to allow communication between a storage disk and a diskless server is the Internet Protocol Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) protocol. The iSCSI protocol allows for the transmission of data across a network using SCSI commands over IP-based networks. Accordingly, the iSCSI protocol can be employed for such boot operations to enable the downloading of the operating system from the storage disk into the memory of the diskless server.
Additionally, an administrator will need to install the boot drivers, operating system, applications, etc. in the storage disks of the different servers during initialization. Such installations across the different devices of the network can be time consuming and problematic as parameters for the different devices are unique. These installations may be particularly time consuming and problematic for configurations having a number of servers, such as the external RAI configurations. Therefore, the administrator is required to install these boot drivers, operating system, applications, etc. based on the unique parameters for the given server.